Florida is jacked up.

I ran last night with tights, pants,long sleeve & jacket the temps in the high 30's and the night before it was in the low 60's & I ran in a t-shirt & shorts. In a 24 hrs period there was this much discrepancy.

Either way 60's are nice To run in.

Listened to kLaNk's broken. Made think of being broken. Will write more on this when I have time.

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all the Christmas lights

I ran very late Sunday night. It was actually really early Monday morning at midnight. It was also cold, but my marathon training can't wait.

I like running at night in general but especially during this season because of all the xmas lights. I'm a child like that. Bright lights fascinate & distract me.

It was another cold run. Maybe in the 40's. Only 2 miles but it was late and cold. I know these two milers will soon give way to 3.5 miles which will give way to 5 milers and soon I'll be running 50 miles a week. That's probably for 2012. I will hit 1000 miles in 2011 though. Maybe more. 2011 is the year of resurrected running goals and being able to attain them.

What are your running goals this year?

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my little runner

I have 3 boys the oldest of which is 6 and in kindergarten. Today they had their 1 mile challenge. When he came home today he was wearing a bracelet that said, 'New Berlin Elementary Mile Run Club'. He was one of two kids in his class to run the mile. He ran it in 12:30. Not bad. So my 6 yro has his first PR!

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Around the 'hood in 4 miles

Started last night's run in the upper 40's with Prong's Rude Awakening to get the blood pumping. This temp is much more manageable than running with a wind chill of 27 or whatever it was Monday night. If you run 2 loops around my 'hood you get 4 miles. I don't know what my time was... this is not something I spend much TimE worrying about. that is odd for a runner. Most of us live and die by the numbers. I do,but only one number... the distance one. I set goals for myself for the year and know what it takes to reach the goal on a weekly basis ad then go for that. However, with my new challenge of running a marathon I have decided to run several races to get me in race-ready mode. With the running of races comes the need to be aware of my times. Most likely starting in the first of the year I will start timing myself again. Tracking not just distance but time too.

I hope that we can challenge forward in our running goals. Will you help challenge me?

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Yes, it gets cold in Florida

I have lived most of my adult life in Florida. Remember that as you read this account. 35 degrees + 16 mph wind = 27 degree wind chill. That's cold. Granted I only ran 2 miles, but it was cold. It wasn't the cold as much as it was the wind. Once the wind died down it was bearable. Got any good cold weather run stories?

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The Challenge has been set

As I mentioned previously, I was looking for a marathon to run in approx. one year. I have decided on the Walt Disney World marathon on 2012. Anybody wanna run with me?

I like to run

Here is a new blog set up to chronicle my exploits as I run and train for a marathon. Yeah, you heard it right. I plan to run a marathon 12 months from now. I will spend the next 12 months training and planning for this epic event. Join me on my journey that is no doubt going to be an epic adventure.

the church smokeout of 2001

I was headed to class last night and saw (smelled) smoke from a fire. I was reminded of my last Sunday at the church I preached at in bible college.

You may remember in 1999-2001 there were terrible forest fires in central Florida. As we headed to church which was about 45 minutes away down way far near Disney we encountered thick smoke from a fire. We tried several different routes, all of which were closed due to smoke. We literraly couldn't get through.

Strangely enough, 10 years ago was before everybody had cell phones. We weren't able to get ahold of anybody at the church. We didn't have a cellphone and neither did anyone at the church. The church met in a resort community clubhouse with no phone. We had to hope the people assumed we couldn't get there on our last dagger because of the fires.

Ultimately, we went the next week for our last week. This memory is however forever smoked into my mind.

sitting around the campfire

At the church we have a place behind the shed where we burn yard waste. I arranged some benches around it for a fire experience a couple of Wednesday nights ago. I was sitting out there praying today just hanging out with God an hot cocoa. I looked into the woods of to my right and saw all the birds suddenly fly away. It was as if something had scared them.

As I looked closer I saw a squirrel on a branch in the low trees where all the birds came from. It reminded me of a camping experience and a squirrel known only as the 'Fatty Squirrel'.

The infamous fatty squirrel was easily twice the size of all the other squirrels. We were throwing pebbles and sticks at the squirrels who thought they were getting food. After a few minutes all the squirrels suddenly ran away. From the midst of the woods right in the middle of where the other squirrels had been sitting sauntered this giant fatty squirrel. He sauntered (I say this because he had a swagger to him that one does not normal see on a squirrel, its normally reserved for gang members) up and plopped down on his haunches and looked at us with a look of 'where's mine?'

We tossed a few things at him, rocks, and he didn't flinch. It was as if he knew it wasn't food. He finally left when he realized he wasn't getting anything.

We awoke the next morning to him chewing on the peanut butter jar. He was run off as a large rock nearly took his head off. The lid on the jar of peanut butter had a single turn left before it was open. The fatty squirrel was seeking his revenge for us taunting him with food the day before.

This is a squirrel I will never forget... I will always remember him as I sit around the campfire...

Aliens & Strangers... pt 3 of a Royal Priesthood and a Precious Cornerstone

As I finished up my last post on the ideas of being able to overcome the community-busting sins listed in the first several verse of 1 Peter 2, it occurred to me that I wanted to share a few more thoughts on the ideas of being aliens in this world. This is terminology that has always appealed to me and sounded familiar yet at the same time difficult to comprehend. We are not made for this world. We are made for something bigger, something greater, something else. We are made for another place. One of my favorite aliens is Thor from Stargate SG1. I don't think this is what Peter is talking about when he says we are aliens in this world. We are not aliens in the sense that we are from another planet, but we are from another 'place'.

What is it that Peter meant by being aliens and strangers in this world? He meant that we are created for more... I know I already said that. It is often missed though. As I write this, I'm listening to the Catalyst Lab by Alan and Deb Hirsch. They are talking about various things that we allow to crowd out God and become idols to us. That's why realizing we are aliens in this world is so very important. When we forget that we don't belong in this world, we allow this world and all it has to offer to become an idol or a myriad of idols to us.

We are not to make our homes here in this world with the things of this world. Jesus tells us,

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

Matthew 6:19-21

If this is true, then when we live as though we belong here then our treasure and our hearts are here in this world. If we live as though we belong in this world, then we have created idols of the things of this world.

I like what the Scottish theologian William Barclay had to say regarding the need to abstain from the fleshly desires because we are aliens in this world. He points out that it is essential for us to remove the fleshly lusts from our lives because it further prohibits us from living in the kind of community that Christ calls us to. The fleshly desires Peter talks about is what Barclay enlightens us to know are the human nature apart from God. It is the unredeemed nature of man, it is the characteristic of the fallen human nature.

This is why it is so critical for us to leave these fleshly desires (which includes malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, slander) in order to be able to build the community that Christ calls us to. If we haven't left these out, and other sins for that matter, how are we going to be able to act and live as a holy nation and a royal priesthood? We can't, plainly put.

How well we are able to remember and live as aliens who are just passing through directly correlates to how well we are going to be able to function within our calling to be a light shining in the darkness of this world.

Are you living as an alien and stranger in this world, or have you made this world your home and thereby created a life of idols with little to no room for God?

A Royal Priesthood and a Precious Cornerstone pt. 2

In my last post we looked at Peter's call on our lives to remove/overcome malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy and slander. We posed the question of how to do that. Here we begin to look to some possible ways.

One way that we may be able to overcome these sins is by realizing who we are called to be. Peter goes on to give us an idea of who need to be and a small snapshot of how get there.

2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

The first and sort of common sense way for us to rid our lives of these sins is to crave the word of God. The closer we walk with Christ, the closer he is to us.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

In order to have clean hearts and minds we have to mold our minds like the mind of Christ Jesus.

Craving the Word of God is kinda a no-brainer for us. We have to dig a little deeper and get further into why it is so important to remove these sins from our lives. As we previously discussed these are sins that are community-busters. When we get a little further into the text, Peter reminds us that we have a specific calling on our lives as Christ-followers. Look at where Peter goes in verse 9:

But you are a chosen race , a royal priesthood , a holy nation , a people for God’s own possession

Peter reminds us that we have a calling to be a part of a community. We ARE a chosen race, we ARE a royal priesthood, we ARE a holy nation. We ARE a part of a community that is bigger than ourselves. We have to rid ourselves of these sins that affect our ability to have community because this community is of the utmost importance for us to be able to. More than just being called to be a part of this community, this community is special, unique and has its calling rooted in God (verse 10 tells us: for you once were not a people , but now you are the people of God ; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy), and we are a community that has a purpose. God has called us to reveal his excellencies, reveal the awesome gift of salvation, reveal to a world full of darkness that there is a way out, a way of hope amidst the chaos that surrounds our life.

so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

As Christ-followers, it is our responsibility to engage and be active in a community of believers, it is our responsibility to actively partake in the action of proclaiming the saving grace and incredible work that God has accomplished in us through his Spirit and son.

Community-busting sins have to be removed, because when they are allowed to fester they become like cancers eating the body from the inside out.

Think about your faith community, is it being all that it can be for God? Or is it plagued by the community-busting sins? If your community isn't moving forward or making any progress for the Kingdom of God, it might be time to look inside and cut out the cancer that is destroying from the inside out.

Are you willing to rid yourself and your community of these sins?

A Royal Priesthood and a Precious Cornerstone pt. 1

1 Peter 2 has been and probably always will be one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture. I like it because it points us several things that boil us down to the reason that we exist here on earth.

Peter starts off by encouraging us all to:

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Peter calls our minds back a few verse where he discusses that we have been born again of a seed that is imperishable. It is because of this rebirthing that we must remove these sins that easy hold us back from seeing the glory of God and understanding the call he has put on our lives. Each one of these sins (and that's what they are... not just human emotions that we all feel and therefore can't escape, they are sin and a hindrance to the work God is doing in our lives) is potentially devastating. By themselves they are deadly and paired together, they are insidiously deadly. Look at them:

MALICE- a desire to injure others (directly contrary to the Love that God instructs us to show to others)
GUILE- a trick, scheme or a snare, the NIV says deceit here (this is purposefully leading someone astray or tricking them to take advantage of them)
HYPOCRISY- this is a two-faced faith for show only, meaning you say you love God but your actions deny him, also the root word for where we get our word actor... so a hypocrite is one who plays a part (obviously, this is when we try to present to God and others that we are something that we are not... this is the opposite of authenticity)
ENVY- an ill will towards other because they have something that I want (this again plays into not loving people, for no reason other than you want what they have and you foster anger towards them because they have it and you don't)
SLANDER- talking in order to do damage to others on purpose (like malice, except instead of actions you use your words to destroy and maim)
It is very easy to see how Peter says if we have been born again, then it is not possible for these types of behaviors to rule in our lives anymore. They directly contradict and destroy unity and community. When these are present it is not possible for unity and community to also exist. Peter tells us to remove these from our lives as though we are removing muddy dirty clothes that we have to peel off of us. Or to remove them as though they are obstacles that try to trip us up.

When we are able to rid our lives of these destructive sins, then we can begin to have community with each other and with lost people. How do we do that though? How do we remove sins as dug in and hard to remove as these? It reminds me of the movie the Predator. When the special forces dudes raid that village they track down all the soldiers in it and chase down one last one to a machine gun nest above them. Jesse the Body Ventura's character comments that he is, 'dug in like an Alabama tick!' Malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy and slander can manifest in our lives in such subtle ways that we don't realize they are there.

Overcoming these sins is a step towards becoming more like Christ. What are ways you overcome these sins in your life?

My Cursory Halloween post

I wanted to respond to and post responses from my first Halloween post. What you find below is the original post with a couple of responses and then my response or follow up to it all. Please enjoy and join the conversation:
I like Halloween. Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite activities. I think Halloween is mostly what we make of it. I like watching my kids dress up and get candy. It’s too much fun for us Christians to ignore!

Kinda like Easter. The Easter bunny is just as insidious as jack-o-lantern if you ask me. Plus with Easter you don’t get to carve a pumpkin.

I know the history and how Halloween evolved, but I don’t dwell on that. I focus on the fun of it. I use it for my own good.

What do you think, should a Christians avoid Halloween?

RE: Interesting take bro. At the risk of sounding too dogmatic let me give an opposing view. This is one that Darcy and I have chosen to apply Eph. 5:11 to. Although it might be fun for some, this night torments others. It's just hard for me to celebrate a night that there are actual sacrifices and real rituals going on. I've been challenged that if I really want to practice something on this night it probably should be praying for those tormented with demons and demonic practices. Somewhere there is someone that has a real name that is suffering demonic oppression.
Now that that is out of the way....you know that I love you and we think ALOT alike. This is just something that Darcy and I choose to abstain from because of personal convictions. Maybe its been because of the direct demonic activity that we see on the rez? For us, this is a conviction that is most certainly a "non-essentail" for Christians and we quietly let the holiday pass without "preaching" to our friends. I believe that there are great Christians on both sides of this one. I also understand that we walk a fine line sometimes. Being "in the world, but not of the world" sort of thing. As you know, I'm one that is comfortable being in a bar reaching out, I listen to secular music, etc, etc. So yeah, I'm a hypocrite in many areas. I guess that's the beauty of swimming in God's grace....
Thanks for asking the question. If you (or anyone else) is interested in hearing the sermon that changed my view on the holiday back in 1999. Go here http://bit.ly/aO7I8S

JP: I was with Ron...until Christ did something new in my heart. A "Mission" if you will...here are 2 blogs I wrote about what God did last year...
http://redeemedbeautifulmess.blogspot.com/search/label/Missional%20Halloween
KR: I LOVE the swimming in God's grace:) we all have so much to learn and so far to go really huh? ONE day we will all be 'perfected' but until then we can strive to be and live all He has called us too.. (i'm stealing the swimming quote btw, thanks)..I am with Mr. Ron,(even tho Polk is my bbestest buddy)..I believe we do not need to partake of the evil deeds of the darkness and we have an entire year to reach out and LOVE our neighbors..I do not have to provide a substitute of fall festivals or 'biblical' costumes for my kids..I do not give them 'carrots' to smoke as a substitute for cigarrettes..evil is evil and I do not need to condone it or think my kids are missing out.. my kids can dress up ALL the time, they can have a treat all the time...if we truly know and understand what the Enemy is up to on his 'day' then I'm again w/Ron we'd be on our faces praying for the children who will be sacrificed today..the 'fun' appearance of Halloween is a great cover up for the horrificness going on behind the scenes..please do not hear what I am NOT saying, I do not have all the answers and I am not all knowing..these are JUSt my families convictions based on what we believe the whole of God's word has shown us..and YES, I am passionate about it..there are many things we as believe s have bought into as they subtely get 'the ok nod' from the church and we have no clue how very far from His mark we have drifted..like Easter, Yes Eli it has Pagan roots as well!! aahhh!!!..this can get me off on the rabbit trail of many other things like Birth Control and dating and lots of other things we 'do' now that the world has slowly crept into the church..instead of us RUNNING SCREAMING INTO the WORLD with HIS HOPE and how WE should be changing their 'stuff' instead of vise versa !! So, all that to say..more..:) one of my former pastor's sat by a 'warlock' on a plane, (unknowingly to the warlock) and shared all about how they pray for the destruction of Pastors and they DO consider Halloween their High Holy Day and they do a whole lot of really BAD stuff on Halloween on purpose.. and they are amused that 'we' Christ followers celebrate the day with them cuz they sure atren't celbrating Christmas or Easter with us! (and they aren't out trying to 'evangelize' us on those days..interesting/scary stuff..ANYWAYS..I am SOOOO VERY FAR from who I know I am supposed to be.I am not sitting in judgement on what anybody else does on that day..we are individually responsible for what we do with Truth ya know..again, like Mr. Ron, I miss the mark all the time...I KNOW I do things still (sin) that I desire to NOT do BUT just not enough quite yet to 'give it up' or maybe I do thoings that other Christ followers consider sin, like oh..I spend money on eating out while every 6seconds a child starves or dies from treatable disease..so, I will continue to swim in God's GRACE and try to figure out daily how I can walk in the Light with a God who recklessly pursues me and you...btw just a few years ago i thought 'people' like me were wayyyy to extreme and a little nutty and legalistic...NOW, I feel like I am free to honor my God by NOT participating in a day that I know grieves His heart..( I love the time the new church brought togather all the 'witchcraft junk' etc and burned it or whatever.. would that we were so brave now...man, I'd have to burn a lot that i bet God consiers NOT of the Light ya know????/...until next time, forgive my rambling and my lack of 'smarts' I'm just a wife/mom 'on the road to beautiful'...LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! (not grammar or spell checking..) peace & everything is grace!!!
Happy Martin Luther day btw!!!!!!
KR: oh let's all get back to HIs Holy-days (all the God feasts and festivals) that He put in place as ways to remember and know Him. He never told us to stop!!!...oh what kinda craziness would that be...go research it!!! His Holidays are sooo much better than the one's we have created, and they would be a way to draw unbelievers to Light!!! whoooo hoooo! let's get radical for Him!!!! ok, I'm done..again, forgive my typos!!..still swimming in grace!
Eli Westfall: I want to respond to everyone. Just know that, but it will not happen tonite. I will offer a response tomorrow.
KR: no response needed for me...i 'throw up' what i'm thinking and then...well, i'm off to something else BUT in parting..know that the bottom line for me is that we are each living 'it out' in ways we are at peace with or wrestling through daily/yearlyand God knows our hearts...love you all!
So, after having considered all of the thoughts above, I sit here listening to the sermon that my buddy Ron has suggested I hear.
My response and follow up post:

I should share my evolution of Halloween...

As a child we did Halloween just like everyone else. I have only been to one haunted house ever. We never indulged in the scariness of it all, just the costumes and the candy.

Then, my first ministry in bible college I was at a church that wanted to have a haunted house at the church. When I said I didn't want to do a haunted house, I was chastised and this began the end of ministry there. It was at this time, I began to research and find the history and know what Halloween was all about. I was appalled when I learned what was the real story behind Halloween. So, I began to resist and not celebrate or do anything for Halloween. And then as time passed, so did my convictions against Halloween. Around that time we also had kids.

I feel like Halloween is a very tough place for us as Christians. More so than other holidays that have been taken over or have attempted to cover pagan holidays. I mentioned Easter as one of them. The Easter bunny drives me insane. Calling that Sunday, Easter drives me crazy!! It's Resurrection Sunday, not Easter.

I suppose in some ways, I have turned my frustrations that were previously reserved for Halloween towards Easter. I say that, but I still allowed Easter baskets. In the long run, Easter doesn't have the roots that Halloween does.

I agree, much of what we know Halloween to be is of demonic origin. My aim with Halloween is to allow my children to enjoy themselves on this day, like any other. We had a fall festival that was a blast. It occurred on Halloween, but I wanted to have it on another day. Having said that, I feel like offering what we did on Halloween was a great success. I said that I didn't want to have it on Halloween, but in the end I felt that having it on Halloween was the best time to have had it.

Maybe, a Halloween alternative on Halloween is actually a good idea. Who would have thought that? My new approach to Halloween is to offer an alternative, not just embrace it nor ignore it. How that will play out each year, I don't know.

Any further thoughts?

The Celestine Danger

I have read the book the Celestine Prophecy twice now. I have seen the movie once (I DVR’ed it). As with many works of print, the book is waaay better than the movie. However, the movie did produce in me a recollection of the readings of the books and some thoughts that I had as I did so.

If you have never read the book, let me sum it up for you. There is an ancient scroll found in Peru with these 9 Insights (I know there are 11 total, but only the first 9 were known of in this installment) that will awaken in humanity some sort of evolution to allow us to become who we were supposed to be while ending all the conflict on earth making life awesome. The church in Peru (which appears to be the Catholic church) is vehemently opposed to this scroll as heresy (some say because it will challenge their authority) as well as the government. It is creating a sort of reawakening in the people of Peru and the world. The government and the church are working pseudo-together to destroy the scroll. The story ends with them thinking they have only for the audience to realize they have not.

Here’s where the danger lies in the Celestine Prophecy… it sounds strangely Christian, but interjects non-Christian aspects into it thereby creating something that is close to the truths of Scripture, although not quite. Here are the first 9 Insights as presented on www.celestineview.com:

1. A Critical Mass

A new spiritual awakening is occurring in human culture, an awakening brought about by a critical mass of individuals who experience their lives as a spiritual unfolding, a journey in which we are led forward by mysterious coincidences.

2. The Longer Now

This awakening represents the creation of a new, more complete world view, which replaces a five-hundred-year-old preoccupation with secular survival and comfort. While this technological preoccupation was an important step, our awakening to life’s coincidences is opening us up to the real purpose of human life on this planet, and the real nature of our universe.

3. A Matter Of Energy

We now experience that we live not in a material universe, but in a universe of dynamic energy. Everything extant is a field of sacred energy that we can sense and intuit. Moreover, we humans can project our energy by focusing our attention in the desired direction…where attention goes, energy flows…influencing other energy systems and increasing the pace of coincidences in our lives.

4. The Struggle For Power

Too often humans cut themselves off from the greater source of this energy and so feel weak and insecure. To gain energy we tend to manipulate or force others to give us attention and thus energy. When we successfully dominate others in this way, we feel more powerful, but they are left weakened and often fight back. Competition for scarce, human energy is the cause of all conflict between people.

5. The Message Of The Mystics

Insecurity and violence ends when we experience an inner connection with divine energy within, a connection described by mystics of all traditions. A sense of lightness – buoyancy – along with the constant sensation of love are measures of this connection. If these measures are present, the connection is real. If not, it is only pretended.

6. Clearing The Past

The more we stay connected, the more we are acutely aware of those times when we lose connection, usually when we are under stress. In these times, we can see our own particular way of stealing energy from others. Once our manipulations are brought to personal awareness, our connection becomes more constant and we can discover our own growth path in life, and our spiritual mission – the personal way we can contribute to the world.

7. Engaging The Flow

Knowing our personal mission further enhances the flow of mysterious coincidences as we are guided toward our destinies. First we have a question; then dreams, daydreams, and intuitions lead us towards the answers, which usually are synchronistically provided by the wisdom of another human being.

8. The Interpersonal Ethic

We can increase the frequency of guiding coincidences by uplifting every person that comes into our lives. Care must be taken not to lose our inner connection in romantic relationships. Uplifting others is especially effective in groups where each member can feel energy of all the others. With children it is extremely important for their early security and growth. By seeing the beauty in every face, we lift others into their wisest self, and increase the chances of hearing a synchronistic message.

9. The Emerging Culture

As we all evolve toward the best completion of our spiritual missions, the technological means of survival will be fully automated as humans focus instead on synchronistic growth. Such growth will move humans into higher energy states, ultimately transforming our bodies into spiritual form and uniting this dimension of existence with the after-life dimension, ending the cycle of birth and death.

As you read them you can see they offer some sound, good ideas. But upon further reflection, the danger is easy to see. While it speaks to a spiritual side to us all, I’m not sure it points to Christ. In our world and society where we are tuned into the spiritual, as Christians and leaders in the church we need to be very careful to ensure that the correct message from Scripture is presented. The idea that our goal as humans is t evolve towards a higher sense or state of existence is not found in Scripture. However, the idea of realizing our tendency to control and dominate people followed by the idea that in order to break that cycle we need to uplift and encourage one another does have its roots in Scripture. What we have here, is a little of Scripture and a lot of non-Scripture. This can be very dangerous for Christians that have become increasingly slack in their knowledge of Scripture. For many of us church leaders teaching doctrine and Scripture knowledge has fallen to the back burner of ministry. Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle has sent much time and even wrote several books just on Doctrine as of late. He says he does it because of the large number of new Christians they have at Mars Hill. This is one of the most well-known churches in America and the pastor is spending mucho time on doctrine. Why have the rest of us deemed it unnecessary? It would appear that solid Scriptural doctrine is in fact assisting growth rather than impeding it. Who would have ever thought?

The Celestine Prophecy offers an entertaining watch and even more entertaining read, but that is where it ends. Much like Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. It almost seems these works cause more problems than good. Maybe that’s why they are there…

It is critical for us to know Scripture and to know it well. Christ will return and he is not going to bring anyone back to Heaven because they understood the 5th Insight and were able to connect with the divine energy unless that means they lived out a life of sacrifice to him loving those the world casts out, holding nothing back as an offering to God, made disciples, shared Christ’s love with the lost, cared for the orphans and widows, kept themselves from being unstained by the world, loved the world as Christ does and died to themselves.

What do you think? Do you have any insights on this?

When God brings us to life...

I have been reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love (I know, I should have read this book eons ago... alas I did not). This book is great. It has been challenging me to live and love better. But it also has been timely for me according to my current life circumstances. It seems, that I have not read this book until now because it is what I need to hear now. A few things come to my mind and feel particularly relevant to me today and right now in my life:

1. God is bigger than me and anything that I currently struggle with. He is the almighty creator of everything out of nothing. Ex nihilo. God created all there was out of nothing. Don't forget that he had to exist prior, for him to be able to create. God is eternal and gigantically huge.

2. The giant God who is creator and king of everything, love ME. Personally. Not as a part of a group, but me. He knows me and loves me as though I was the only person. Incredible. I don't deserve this love. That's probably the understatement of all time. As I've been working to wrap my head around somethings in my own head, I have been sharing with the students that I pastor at SRCC. One thing I've said to them a couple of times is that God died for the individual, not me the unknown face in a sea of humanity. He was thinking of me on the cross... and you... and you... etc. God loves us each one.

3. God is going to do what he wants and I can either get on board or get out of the way (because his will will be done with or without me, I just might get run over if I'm impeding the process).

What does this have to do with being alive? I have been listening to a lot of Skillet lately. Particularly on the latest album, Awake, there is a much discussion on being made alive by God and God alone. I feel energized and renewed as I rely on God to bring me to life. Only God can satisfy me. Nothing else this world affords.

Do you love God with everything in your life? I want to quote Chan as I close:

Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants? Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life? Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?

Starratt Road Makes a Difference

Check out what we are doing this Sunday. Ask me more or find us on Facebook, facebook.com/starrattroad

Tension is Good

Sitting in the worship waiting for Andy to hit the stage to speak to us this morning at Catalyst.

The theme of the conference is Tension, focusing on Tension being good. Wanted to think on this for a minute. This seems counterintuitive for us. We like peace, harmony and lack of discord. We don't like for the boat to be rocked at all.

But isn't Tension good? It creates a space for us to make change, think things through differently. To challenge the ways that we have always done things. It allows us to get beyond the sacred cows that too often get hung up on and refuse to leave behind. Tension is good because it allows for more people to join the conversation we are having. Getting people to join in and share their story within our story is the key to effecting change in those we encounter.

People don't want a monologue. They want a dialogue.Will you join the conversation? Will you join the discussion and be the catalyst for change?

Individuality vs. Community

As sit here taking a break for the labs at #CAT10 I am reminded of a subject that I wanted to share with y'all.
I'm reminded of it because this morning I was very excited, yet nervous and anxious about coming to Catalyst. I was excited because this potentially could be one of the most amazing things to happen to me this year. Being at a conference where 17,000 other church leaders are with the ideas and questions and techniques and all of the glory that God can bring to an event like this... but at the same time I knew of no one that I know that was going to be here. So I facebooked a fellow Jax youth minister to see if he was gonna be here. A friend of mine saw this post and suggested that I meet some of her friends she knew were gonna be here. So I texted them and have potentially made some new friends (at least digital ones). We will be hooking up tomorrow. As I wandered around the open area where all the vendors are I randomly ran into an elder from Campus Church in Gville and was able to see him and his wife along with Campus' new Family Minister. I've never met Phil. I think there might be a new friendship there as well. We went on to sit during 2 labs and lunch together.
So I went from knowing no one, to being able to connect with other 'real' people. Also, I have increased the number of people I follow on Twitter while here. Building digital relationships as well.
I like my alone time, don't get me wrong. But I also like my people time. God created us for community. Remember in the Garden when he said it is not good for man to be alone? I think this was speaking to a greater desire than for us just to have mates, but to the desire that we need community. Our lives are not meant to be lived in seclusion. Reggie Joiner said in his Lab today, "There is a difference between doing faith alone and owning your own faith... we need to own our own faith, but we CANNOT do faith alone." I totally agree with him.
We have to have others to help us through this life, we can't do it alone.
Who is in your community that helps you through life?

Thoughts from Ron Edmondson & Pete Wilson

This is a great post that need to read. Pete is right on target with this.

http://www.ronedmondson.com/2010/10/pete-wilson-plan-b-for-church-leaders-at-catalyst-lab.html

I wanted to post what Pete had to say, but felt like I was stealing from two sources, not just one so I'm posting the link here for all you read.

What do you think about what he has to say?

Toxicity

I just couldn't help myself with these two great pics of coffee. But the toxic one is really the heart of the matter here.

Why is it, the things that are most toxic to us are the things that we desire the most? I feel this way with many things, coffee being one of them.

It gives me heartburn/acid reflux but I just can't help myself sometimes... strike that most of the time. It just tastes so good. I used to keep the coffee industry in business by myself. Not any longer.

I think of the fruit on the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The very thing that we couldn't have, was the only thing (seems like) that Adam and Eve wanted. It was toxic. God even warned them: ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’

It doesn't get any more toxic than that... this even came with a warning label of its toxicity.

Look any other list of sins in the Scriptures and they are all toxic to not only ourselves as individuals, but to the community with which we associate (whether that's a faith community or not). Think about. Doesn't it seem at times though, that we are drawn to the behaviors which destroy our community and ourselves? Why is that? What is it about something that is toxic to us that we can't ever seem to get enough of it?

Is it some sort of design within that compels us to constantly move that way? I suspect we live in a fallen world in which what we value most has been distorted and maybe even destroyed to the level where we don't even or can't even recognize on a subconscious level we are drawn to that which destroys. Does that make any sense? What I'm trying to say is, as a being in a fallen world where sin is now the predisposition we are more likely to move towards sin. If this is the case then it makes sense that we would be drawn to what destroys us... we almost can't help it. We are stuck in a cycle of destruction with no way out...

Or are we? Yes & no. We are stuck and there is no way out... except through the blood of Christ. He is the only one to save us from ourselves. Christ came to seek and save the lost. That would be us.

How can we overcome that which is Toxic to us? Only by asking Christ to assist us in that struggle.

Daily rely on him in prayer.

Daily trust in him for strength.

Daily seek him to guide us.

Daily let his experience (as one who struggle through this life too) get us through to the end.

I Love it when a Plan comes Together

What we consider Plan B, God considers Plan A.

Swiped this from a dude I follow on twitter, Lance Morgan.

It seems appropriate. Never though of it in those terms though.

Think of all the 'plan b's' in scripture and how they obviously were God's intended purpose. To name a few:
*Christ on the cross
*Abraham & Isaac
*Noah & the ark
*a system of animal sacrifice that could only atone for sin a year at time vs the substitutionary death of God himself.

Only a couple of examples to illustrate that God always has a plan. In the immortal words of Hannibal Smith, I suspect God sits back and comments that he loves it when a plan comes together.

More Credit than I Deserve?

At least more than I give myself...

Tonight the boys & I took Ronda out to eat for her birthday to Cracker Barrel. For the second time since Jagger was born we had an older couple who was seated near us come to us as they were leaving to compliment us on our nice family & how well we and the boys conducted ourselves.

This kinda always amazes me because I feel like my family is organized chaos most of the time. It makes me feel good for others to look at us and assess that we are a pleasant family who is keeping things together.

Ultimately, this makes me feel good because I'm not always sure that I'm a good parent let alone the one that God wants me to be. It's hard sometimes being a parent. You want to do what is right by your kids, what God would want and what is civil. Sometimes though, the sinful nature gets the best of you and you don't know if your are a good parent.   When you couple this with the general difficulty it is to say no to your little precious children as they throw an embarrassing fit in public (or just anytime when they make bad choices and you have to make good on your threats of discipline. It's best for them to not get everything they want. It is good for them to see consistency from us.

I love my kids and my family. I love being a dad.

I guess it's just nice for others to notice too.

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Captain Sarcastic

Ephesians 4:29 NASB

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

I have been accused on more than one occasion of being a highly sarcastic person. Spend any time with me and you'll see. Sometimes this bothers me and others it doesn't. It should more than it does. Especially when we think of Matthew 12:34. Ouch!

I was talking to Ronda last night and she said she thinks my sarcasm is much less than it used to be. Which is good. She asked what changed? I said I thought it was after being a sarcastic jerk to one of our boys and making them cry for the 2nd or 3rd time that I began to back off.

We have to be careful how our speech affects others. Are you edifying others with your speech? If not, what's in your heart?

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Forward Motion

I'm remined that God offers forgiveness without judgment for our sins. What I mean by that is if we accept the blood of Christ our sins are covered and God can judge them & not us. We become made righteous because of the blood of Christ in spite of ourselves.

How do we obtain forgiveness? Ask for it.  What does asking for it involve? Confessing it and owning it. Admitting our error and doing better next time.

Scriptures encourage to bring our mistakes out into the light where they can be seen for what they really are. What remains hidden in the darkness is able to remain to unchanged. When sin remains unchanged it retains it stranglehold on our lives. We can't live in the dark and the light at the same time.

Forward Motion requires that we accept our errors, our sin and claim them so we can move forward. God is ready to bestow his grace when we are ready to accept it and leave our sinful lives behind.

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Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace

Starratt Road Christian Church has been around 21 years.  If the church was a person, then the person would be in either their junior or senior year of college on the verge of graduating and moving into the real world and getting a job.  Beginning to make a difference in the world we live in.  As a church we have constantly been moving and changing. There is no reason for us as church to stop moving forward, stop changing and stop being relevant to the community we live in.  This is the same call that all Christians have on their heart... or they should.  Are we going to change the world around us?  Are we going to let God move us forward to be used by him?

The key to being used by God is to be covered in his grace and live changed because of it.  This is the key to making a difference around us... knowing where we have come from and how God has changed us.

What does the dictionary say about grace?

i.      1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace

ii.      2 a : approval, favor <stayed in his good graces> b archaic : mercy, pardon c : a special favor : privilege <each in his place, by right, not grace, shall rule his heritage — Rudyard Kipling> d : disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e : a temporary exemption : reprieve

iii.      3 a : a charming or attractive trait or characteristic b : a pleasing appearance or effect : charm <all the grace of youth — John Buchan> c : ease and suppleness of movement or bearing

iv.      4—used as a title of address or reference for a duke, a duchess, or an archbishop

v.      5 : a short prayer at a meal asking a blessing or giving thanks

vi.      6 plural capitalized : three sister goddesses in Greek mythology who are the givers of charm and beauty

vii.      7 : a musical trill, turn, or appoggiatura

viii.      8 a : sense of propriety or right <had the grace not to run for elective office — Calvin Trillin> b : the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful

II.                 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Spends lots of time talking about what he calls, Cheap Grace – "cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."Cheap grace is justification of the sin without justification of the sinner. Cheap grace is a cheap covering for sins, with contrition is required, even less required is any real desire to be delivered from sin. The essence of cheap grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in full therefore everything can be had for nothing… since the cost (of our sin) is covered the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite… abusing grace. This mentality sounds strangely like: Romans 6:1-2, 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or, even more clearly, it is to hear the gospel preached as follows: "Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness." The main defect of such a proclamation is that it contains no demand for discipleship. He contrasts this idea of “Cheap Grace” idea of grace that is costly or “Costly Grace.” Costly Grace -  On the other hand costly grace: Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Costly Grace is costly b/c it calls us to follow and it is grace b/c it calls us to follow Christ. It is costly b/c it costs a person their life, & it is grace b/c it gives the only true life.  It is costly b/c it condemns sin & it is grace b/c it justifies the sinner. Above all it is costly b/c it cost God his only son (1 Cor. 6:20, 20 you were bought at a price.), therefore it cannot be cheap for us, ever. And above all it is grace because God did not consider the price of his son too much to pay for our life, but delivered him for our sins. Costly Grace is the Incarnation of God… plain and simple.

Where does this leave us? A good place to start is with Romans 3:21-25, “21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” We are justified by his grace, meaning we as the sinner and not sins are justified… Justified… Just as If I’d never sinned. We come to accept the grace of God through a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Isa. 66:2, Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. The main difference between ‘cheap’ grace and ‘costly’ grace (or real grace) is that Real Grace actually demands that we:

Repent… which implies that we feel guilty for our sin. Acts 2:38 makes this clear

Confess… we admit and claim our mistakes. I Jn. 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Baptism… we die to ourselves and live for Christ. Again Acts 2:38, prime example…

All of this is a dying to ourselves, that Christ might live through us. Mt. 16:24-25, 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of WWII, was called by adoring New Yorkers 'the Little Flower' because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the New York City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids. One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.

Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. "It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor." the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson." LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant." So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Multnomah, 1990, pp 91-2.

Are you ready to fully embrace grace as God intended it?

Accepting God's grace means we can't be the same... We have to change who we are.  James tells us clearly Faith without Works is dead (James 2:26).  If you accept God's grace for what it truly is & accept it the God intended, you must change who you are...

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Year of the Eli

I'm sure many of you are aware of the Chinese traditions of the year of the dragon and the year of the tiger, etc. I don't know anything about the Chinese traditions or what goes into the celebrations of these years and their significance. I do know what goes into the celebration of the Year of the Eli and I do know its significance. Allow me to explain, to enlighten you...

Recently I was listening to a message by Andy Stanley from Northpoint in the ATL. Andy was speaking on the things that we place our hope in or on. He said that we often hope on jobs, education, looks, family and other things like this that really offer the support for our hope that we need because they can all let us down and disappoint because they aren't able to transcend the struggles and pain of our experience in life. As you might imagine, he went on to say that God is the only thing worthy of our hope and the only thing that we can hope in because he is able to transcend our experience.

I feel almost like my life has come full circle in the sense that I am now beginning to see how God has been working in my life over the last 5-6 years preparing me for what he is putting in front of me for the future. The last 10 days have been some of the best in my life for a couple of reasons. I don't want to spill all of the beans just yet, but suffice it to say that things are (finally) looking up for us. This is the year of the Eli because what I have been hoping in/on for years now is coming to fruition. I don't believe that God has a rewardist relationship with us, but I do believe, like Paul, that God works all things to the good of those who trust him. I have trusted him and through all of it (the very hard, difficult and dark times) God has proven to me to be worthy of my hope and trust because hoping in him has not disappointed me.

This is my time to show that I can do all of the things that God, family, friends, and I have expected out of me. I can use my talents and abilities to shine and to make a difference in the lives of people.

This is Year the Eli... watch out world!

The Lesser Lights: Orion and Sparky

Genesis 1:16 - God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.




Over the last 3 years I have run a little over 1500 miles at night. And one thing that has been constant over those 3 years is Orion and his dog... my favorite stars. (I know they are groups of stars)

Orion is always there with his dog (whom I have affectionately named Sparky) to cheer me on. I always look for them first thing when I go out to run.

The more that I run the more that I can understand the ancients who believed that the stars were somehow representations of the gods to them. The gods were manifesting themselves to the humans in the stars. I can see it. Like the sun and moon the stars are always there. You can relay on them and even take them for granted. Orion and Sparky are welcome running partners for me any night.

I know these stars are not manifestations of God per se, but he did create them and hang them in the sky. They may not be the way that he manifests himself, but they are the way that he manifests himself since they are his creation and he shows them to us daily, or should I say nightly.

I thank you Orion and Sparky for your faithful running support and further I thank God for teaming them up with me.


-- Eli

The Road to Recovery out of that Lost Eon

New on the Celldweller Wish Upon a Blackstar Chapter 2 is the song Eon. It really speaks to me and expresses the feelings that I have regarding the last couple of years for me. 

The other day I had the occassion to speak with someone about a potential ministry opportunity and as I did so I was able to share some of te struggles that I've had over the last couple of years. What I noticed wad how good it felt to be able to share these feelings to a prospective co-laborer in Christ, trusting him and God to do what needs to be done with those feelings and thoughts. I've felt that Eon catches the tension I feel for awhile and I'm just now getting around to sharing it. Here's the lyrics:
 
I'm pacing inside this empty room
Told to wait til my life's withdrawn
Uneasy, I'm waiting here anxiously
It's a waste and I won't wait another Eon

Endless night
Long for light
My head against this tomb
And pushing through
I'm pushing through
Facedown and pushing through

Trapped and isolated
Time is dislocated
Eternity is what a moment seems
When I can't feel anything

Erasing my final memories
They wont stop til my whole life's gone
Uneasy, I wait for normality
It's a waste and I won't wait another Eon

When life is gone without a trace
And hope is lost in times embrace
I won't wait or hesitate; I'm pushing through facedown
I won't wait or hesitate; I'm pushing through

If times a song, I won't wait for its reprise
I am done wishing farewells and goodbyes
I won't let this place overshadow my birthright
I won't wait another Eon

Impatiently, I'm cutting through the earth in front of me
Bone on stone, blood and sweat married
Can't hear the voice that whispers fears when my heart is pounding in my ears
All I see in my mind is not what I've left behind
But all the things I've been missing in that lost Eon

Trapped and isolated
Time is dislocated
Eternity is what a moment seems
When I am lost inside this dream
When I can't speak and I can't scream
And I can't feel anything 


Several lines are worth noting:
Face down and pushing through- I have never given up. I have persevered. I'm gonna get a tattoo of the kanji for persevere, because I wasn't always sure I was coming out on the other side of this. 

I am done wishing farewells and goodbyes
I won't let this place overshadow my birthright- sometimes I feel like all I can see or feel is the mistakes I've made. When they are all I see they feel like they overshadow my future. They won't as long as I don't dwell on them and give them the power to overshadow my future.   

All I see in my mind is not what I've left behind
But all the things I've been missing in that lost Eon- similar idea, in order to move forward I have to stop dwelling on the past. I can never become who I'm supposed to be tomorrow of I never forgive myself for who I was yesterday. 

The chorus- sometimes time feels like it slows to a blur, not one of speed but one where everything just goes by in slow motion. It's in those moments where I am most vulnerable to dwell on my fears and my screw ups. It's in those moments that it's most critical to focus on how far I've come by the grace of God. 

I won't let this place (my past mistakes and my fears) overshadow my birthright

-- Eli

Noah and the Hurting God

I was reading Genesis earlier this week and I was struck by the passage that speaks of God being grieved in his heart for having made man and sad/disappointed enough that he was going to destroy the whole world. Plants and animals too, not just the people. I wondered, what changed in his mind that he was ready to destroy everything but then a short time (cf 2 Peter 3:8) later he himself died for our transgressions.

I know Ephesians 1:10 says that at the fullness of time Christ appeared on the scene… but why was that fullness not when he was so moved to destroy everything?

Was it because he had not yet developed a relationship with his creation the dying for our sins would matter to us? Was it because he hadn't imparted the Law and therefore we had no recollection of our transgressions for it to matter that he dyed for our sins? Was it to demonstrate the futility of life apart from him? Was it to show us that when we are left to ourselves we will self-destruct and destroy even the beauty of the world? Was it show that being a good, moral person who does what is right still isn't enough without Christ at the center of our lives?

I don't know.

What I do know I that God was saddened enough by how his creation turned out that he wanted nothing to do with it. I know that God couldn't bring himself to destroy all of it (Noah & his family & the animals were saved). I know that God made a covenant (that is a deal) to never do that again. And he STILL died for our sins.

Whatever God's reasoning, timing and planning were without we would not have the opportunity to know him. We also wouldn't have a God who disappointment in the most of intimate ways.

God was sad.

He was disappointed.

Many of us have been there. Many of us know what God must have been feeling.

What better God is there than one who can say, "I feel your pain!"?

-- Eli

Frozen

Celldweller has a song entitled Frozen with some lyrics that have made me think critically about what I recently re-read in Rob Bell's Sex God. He was speaking on lust and how lust takes our focus off of God and almost more deviously twists our perceptions of things that were intended to be good. Like sex. God intended it to be a beautiful thing between husband & wife and lust (thu the work of Satan) has twisted it to something else. Bell speaks about David's son Amnon fell in love with his sister Tamar. And he lusted after her. Ultimately he raped her and became so enraged at the sight of her that Scriptures say he hated her more than he had loved her. The lyrics in Frozen say:

Inside this fantasy
It seems so real to me
Synthetic ecstasy, when her legs are open
True Love behind a wall
Where men and angels fall
A fading memory, when my mind is frozen

(I recommend Sebastian Komor's Filter Overdrive remix)

Synthetic. That's what lust is. Trading the real for the unreal. Bell goes on to say that lust becomes our master. When we want something so bad thAt we can't think of life without it, it owns us.

That's his point. And I think God's too. Lust, not just for sex, becomes our God very easily. When we focus on something and spend all of our thoughts on something it becomes our master. We then becomes frozen inside the fantasy that seems so real to us we are unable to see it isn't real.

I wonder who/what is our master?

-- Eli

Unabashedly Christian

I had the occassion just now watch several Christian band's music videos on a channel I didn't even know we got. It was refreshing to be reminded how far Christian music has come since I was wrapping up high school. It sucked back then. It is tons better now. In some ways it still leaves much to be desired, but it is better. It is tolerable an there are maNy bands that are actually good. There is also a wide selection to choose from.

My two cents for the penny it is worth.


-- Eli

Even the Dish Network guy gets it

We had dish network come to install dish serviceto the apartment last eve. It took forever because satellites and apartments don't play well together. So we are signing te paperwork at the end and he says, is that your bike out front? I say yes. He says what did you do to it? I say ripped all the plastic off and hacked up the tail. He says why? I say because bikes didn't look cool in the 80s. He says that's an 80s bike? I say yeah. He says you have accomplished your goal cause that bike is awesome!


-- Eli

2k10 day 5.2

Actually went running tonite. Ran 4.5 miles checkyhe tweet to your right. It was very cold. Keeping up my numbers for the year. Goodnite.

-- Eli

Day Numero Cinco

This is Day 5 of the new year. So far for my running goals I'm good. This is Tuesday of the first full week of the new year, so I better hit my running goals for it. Tonite will be the first run of the new week. Sunday was cold and Monday was class. Unortunately, tonite will also be cold. Hey, I live in Florida, it's not supposed to be in the teens at nite!

Look for Day 5.2 to see if I actually run tonite.


-- Eli

The woods called to me like flies on stink

I will remember our first house in Athens growing up forever. It was a duplex and the dude that owned had finished the basement so it was the only duplex in the neighborhood that was two storey. It had a spiral staircase leading downstairs and a small deck off the kitchen up stairs. It was set on a hill so the back of the house and the downstairs was downhill from the front. Our neoghbor was a crazy cat-lady named Miss June who was a smoker and a teacher.

Behind the house was some woods with a creek in them. The woods ran parallel to the back of the house with the creek running the same direction. Going out the front door of the house and turning left took you to the end of the cul de sac. If you passed the house there, you go through a small patch of woods that shielded the homes from the railroad track. This track ran perpendicular to the creek. It had a phenomenal tressel to bridge the creek (it wasn't anything special to most, but to a 9 year old boy it was fantastic).

Abe and I use to love to enter the woods behind the house, bushwhack to the creek and then make our way to the train track via the creekbed. There was sandbars, logs, barbed wire fence and of course the creek. We could seem to make it to the train track without gettig wet and muddy. This of course, was part of the adventure. We always made it, but we were always wet and muddy. This was not a problem for Abe and I.

What was the problem was that mom was very specific about us not being allowed in the woods. There was nothig inherently wrong with the woods, save that we nearly ruined whatever we were wearing when we entered the woods. This is why mom forbid us in the woods. At the time it was beyond my ability to comprehend why she would not want us in the woods, even if it meant ruining clothes…

We went down to Ron & Deb's for new years. Deb got the boys cowboy boots. They have been wearing them nonstop. They were trying to wear them to do flooring work at Ron & Deb's. They also were crawling around on the floor scraping the toes of their boots up. They couldn't understand why I didn't want then to crawl around and scrape up their boots.

I then understood the ban on the woods when I was 9.

-- Eli


-- Eli

2k10 Day One

I've decided not to make any new years resolutions this year since I never keep them. I'm instead reaffirming my goal to run 1000 miles this year. I set that goal 3 years ago and hit 75% of it. With a little knee grease I can achieve this goal. Stay tunes for upcoming details.

Day One: ran 4.25 miles


-- Eli